Blog Archives
Beware of Who You Befriend (Hadith No. 1809)
Bismillah.
Volume 3, Book 34, Number 314:
Narrated Abu Musa (radiallaahu `anhu):
Allah’s Apostle (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) said, “The example of a good companion (who sits with you) in comparison with a bad one, is I like that of the musk seller and the blacksmith’s bellows (or furnace); from the first you would either buy musk or enjoy its good smell while the bellows would either burn your clothes or your house, or you get a bad nasty smell thereof.”
Be very careful while choosing your friends because they play an important role in making the future you. You will be influenced by them, willingly or unwillingly. So favor the perfume-seller over the blacksmith.
Having bad friends can not only have adverse effects on your life in this world, it can sabotage your eternal bliss in the Hereafter as well. Why would you want to risk that?
وَيَوْمَ يَعَضُّ الظَّالِمُ عَلَىٰ يَدَيْهِ يَقُولُ يَا لَيْتَنِي اتَّخَذْتُ مَعَ الرَّسُولِ سَبِيلًا
يَا وَيْلَتَىٰ لَيْتَنِي لَمْ أَتَّخِذْ فُلَانًا خَلِيلًا
لَّقَدْ أَضَلَّنِي عَنِ الذِّكْرِ بَعْدَ إِذْ جَاءَنِي ۗ وَكَانَ الشَّيْطَانُ لِلْإِنسَانِ خَذُولًا
“And the Day the wrongdoer will bite on his hands [in regret] he will say, “Oh, I wish I had taken with the Messenger a way.
Oh, woe to me! I wish I had not taken that one as a friend.
He led me away from the remembrance after it had come to me. And ever is Satan, to man, a deserter.”
[Al-Furqan: 27-29]
A reminder by Nouman Ali Khan on the same subject here.
Relate post: Righteous Company – Light
Don’t HATE, But APPRECIATE!
One of the main reasons of people, specifically Youth, not following Islam is that we people (and that includes all of us) are too quick to ridicule a person over the “little” good that he does. Let me explain what I mean.
There are 2 cases:
1st Case:
A person (say X) is following a Sunnah, and another person (say Y) sees him and asks why are you doing this? When person X replies that he’s doing it because it’s Sunnah, instead of saying something like “ma sha Allah may Allah help us all follow more Sunnahs,” the usual reply is “But that (any other example) is also a Sunnah and you’re not following that. Why are you following this and not that?”
I mean seriously? If a person is following Sunnah A and not Sunnah B that does not mean that he should stop following Sunnah A too until he starts following Sunnah B! This doesn’t even make sense logically! 1 good is better than NO good!
2nd Case:
Person X is not doing something obligatory and when there comes a time to do something else that is also obligatory, person Y starts mocking him. An example is that person X does not get up for Fajr regularly, and he’s playing cricket and the Maghrib Azaan starts. Now he tells his teammates to go for prayer and they say no let’s finish the match first. If he insists that brothers it’s Salaah time we shouldn’t be playing cricket, Salaah is more important, they start mocking him that “oh you don’t wake up for Fajr and now you’re so worried about Maghrib?”
AGAIN, a seriously messed up logic. If a person is doing 1 wrong, that does not justify that you tell him to do ANOTHER wrong! That would NOT make things better but would only worsen the situation.
This is present to some extent in all of us. When we’re doing something of OUR OWN interest, and our friend tells us to follow Islam at that time we would immediately start embarrassing him by reminding him of his shortcomings. That oh you don’t do this and you don’t do that why being so righteous right now?
Let’s fear Allah in this regard. What if that person does a sin because of your words? What if he leaves a Sunnah or a FARD at that moment just because it suited YOUR DESIRES?
“And cooperate in righteousness and piety, but do not cooperate in sin and aggression. And fear Allah ; indeed, Allah is severe in penalty.”
Surah Al-Maeda, verse 2
May Allah help us all understand and implement this in our lives completely and bless the Messenger (SalAllaahu Alaiyhi Wasallam) who taught us the most beautiful of manners, Ameen.
Sanctuary
A book is a sedative,
Putting my troubled mind to sleep.
It takes me right out of chaos,
To another world, so blissfully deep
A book is a haven,
From the stormy seas of contention,
Where my vessel of emotions can wait,
Till sunshine breaks through the clouds of tension.
A book is a secret door,
To a world of tremendous knowledge and beauty,
Where the mind can live and grow and flourish,
Till dragged back by the collar, to duty!
A book is my best friend,
Who in moments of agony holds my hand.
A source of comfort and bittersweet joy;
My stout shield in a cruel and merciless land.
The Prophet’s Faithful Friend (Hadith No. 455)
Salam,
Bismillah.
Yesterday’s Hadith highlighted the importance of good company. Today you’ll see what a ‘good’ friend is like. The best example of all times: Abu Bakr, Prophet (SAW)’s friend. <3
Narrated Abu Said Al-Khudri:
The Prophet delivered a sermon and said, “Allah gave a choice to one of (His) slaves either to choose this world or what is with Him in the Hereafter. He chose the latter.” Abu Bakr wept. I said lo myself, “Why is this Sheikh weeping, if Allah gave choice to one (of His) slaves either to choose this world or what is with Him in the Here after and he chose the latter?” And that slave was Allah’s Apostle himself. Abu Bakr knew more than us. The Prophet said, “O Abu Bakr! Don’t weep. The Prophet added: Abu- Bakr has favored me much with his property and company. If I were to take a Khalil from mankind I would certainly have taken Abu Bakr but the Islamic brotherhood and friendship is sufficient. Close all the gates in the mosque except that of Abu Bakr.
We all know the stories of their friendship. How he was the only man supporting him, believing in him when everyone else, even family, turned their backs on the Prophet (SAW). We know how he was always ready to put his life on the line for him, how he helped out in the Hijrah and how glad he was to find out that he was accompanying the Prophet (SAW) on his journey to Madinah. He was thaniya ithnayn (the second of the two), as Allah mentions him in the Qur’an. He was Abu Bakr, Allah be pleased with him.
ثَانِيَ اثْنَيْنِ إِذْ هُمَا فِي الْغَارِ إِذْ يَقُولُ لِصَاحِبِهِ لَا تَحْزَنْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ مَعَنَا
“..the second of the two; when they (Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم and Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه) were in the cave, he (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said to his companion (Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه): “Be not sad (or afraid), surely Allah is with us.” [At-Tawbah: 40]
There’s a lot to say about Abu Bakr (RA). There’s a lot to know about him. Try reading up on him. And, do listen to this beautiful nasheed about him:
Do you have a friend like that? Moreover, are YOU such a friend to others? :)
Quick question: do you know why he was known as as-Siddeeq?
Wassalam.
Righteous Company – Light (Hadith No. 454)
Salam,
Bismillah.
Narrated Anas bin Malik:
Two of the companions of the Prophet departed from him on a dark night and were led by two lights like lamps (going in front of them from Allah as a miracle) lighting the way in front of them, and when they parted, each of them was accompanied by one of these lights till he reached their (respective) houses.
This Hadith talks about a miracle. After sitting in Prophet (SAW)’s company, these two companions left with a physical light. I want to talk about another kind of light that one gets as a result of good company. Spiritual, you may say.
You must have felt it at some point in your life. That feeling after meeting a righteous person/religious scholar. Prophet (SAW) once gave a very interesting parable regarding this:
On the authority of Abu Musa al-Ash’ari (رضي الله عنه ), the Prophet (صلي الله عليه و سلم ) said:
A good friend and a bad friend are like a perfume-seller and a blacksmith: The perfume-seller might give you some perfume as a gift, or you might buy some from him, or at least you might smell its fragrance. As for the blacksmith, he might singe your clothes, and at the very least you will breathe in the fumes of the furnace.
[Sahih al-Bukhari, vol 3, #314 and Muslim]
So after visiting a ‘good’ friend, you’re left with a good smell, a nice feeling – a spiritual light. It is your choice to let that light shine, or just let it die out with time.
Tip: to fuel your spiritual light, you need to keep visiting your good friends, find righteous company, spend time with the knowledgable and get as much positive energy from Qur’an, Hadith and Islamic literature as you can.
Smell good! (For the clueless: it is not just a literal statement.) :)
Wassalam.
iLookiListen 